I have written in past columns and blog posts about how Christmas has become like a door with a long path leading to it, full of bright colors and cheerful tunes and good cheer – and then you open the door and that is it, like lemmings over a cliff.

And actually that part about all the good cheer on the path, well, for many it’s fraught with tension and too much concern with what has to be done, with no thought for the enjoyment of the doing.

As I gather this year’s Christmas decorations, I am packing a couple of boxes labeled “2014” – my favorite ornaments, my bubble lights and a picture that says my intent better than those famous thousand words.